Water voles make comeback thanks to conservation work near Pickering (From Gazette & Herald)
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Water voles make comeback thanks to conservation work near Pickering
8:58am Saturday 19th May 2012 in News
Forestry Commission wildlife officer Brian Walker and Ami Walker, agri-environment officer with the North York Moors National Park Authority, survey a beck in Langdale Forest where the endangered water vole is making a comeback thanks to conservat
Endangered water voles in Langdale Forest, near Pickering, are set to benefit from work to dam woodland watercourses and remove conifers from the species’ streamside haunts.
The Forestry Commission has linked up with the North York Moors National Park Authority and National Trust to extend habitat creation work, funded by £24,000 from an Environment Agency scheme to improve water quality.
Water voles – beloved as Ratty in Wind In The Willows – were once commonplace, but the escape of predatory mink into the British countryside and fewer suitable habitats saw their fortunes collapse.
Now they are now on the critical list and Langdale Forest and the eastern moors may be their only haven in the North York Moors National Park.
The latest work aims to improve water quality by reducing sediment and creating the kind of clean pools the creature loves. But the work will also help other wildlife, including fish.
